


The Red Butterfly

by kimstaykids



Series: The Red Butterfly [1]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Alien Apocalypse, Angst, Horror, M/M, Minor Character(s) Death, Platonic Relationships, Supernatural - Freeform, Survival, Violence, Zombie Apocalypse, light fluff, no romantic relationships for now - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-03-23 07:23:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13782618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimstaykids/pseuds/kimstaykids
Summary: (Previously known as RED)The greatest fear ever to exist is the fear of the unknownA peaceful night turns into a game of survival. Just what are these creatures? Possessing people and turning them into someone thirsting for violence?They descended from the sky with blood-red wings. Are they aliens or the angels of death?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Stray Kids is 3 years younger in this 1st part of The Red Butterfly series, so Chan is like 18 and Jeongin is 14.

The night where the moon appears the largest, is the night where the moon turns red. A rather uncommon phenomenon which made scientists lose their heads. To call it the blood moon is far more than farfetched. This case is unnatural, which means someone or something has caused this abnormality. But when they found out the danger that comes close, it's too late to save those without access to knowledge, in short the citizens or to be more accurate, the citizens on the dark side of the Earth who are deep in slumber only to wake up to realize that they're in the afterlife.

Though in the streets of Seoul, the night is still young. People in their teens are seen filling the streets, hanging out with their peers or dating like the youngsters they are. Also can be seen a few foreigners touring some hot spots in the capital city, taking a few pictures here and there and visiting souvenirs' shop buying stuffs they promised to buy for their families and friends back in homeland.

However, at the edge of the city, on top of a cheap worn out apartment, three young boys are casually sitting by the edge of the roof, legs dangling by the cliff, listening to the late night radio as the cold night wind brushes their hair. Chan, Changbin and Jisung enjoy the night view of the city while listening to the sound of vehicles rushing down the road, the random music from a group of dancers dancing somewhere down the street and of course, the radio.

It was by Changbin's summon that they're here right now. Apparently, he had gotten into a big fight with his father and like a kid facing puberty, he ran away from home, just for the night as he doesn't think he could face his father until both of them calmed down. It was very rare for them to fight as his father had always been supportive of him but when he found out about Changbin being an underground rapper from one of his close friends, he was definitely mad. From the argument they had, Changbin was sure that his father had already made plans for him to succeed the family company. He laughs just thinking about it. What a very cliche life.

Chan looks at Changbin, who had been sighing since they arrived. They didn't talk, just by the look in his eyes, Chan knows that the young boy doesn't want to talk about it. He knows that the boy needed some time to before opening up to them. Unlike Jisung, who keeps smiling while humming to the song on the radio, he's more open, and always says what he wants, but in a joking manner. The both of them are so different yet, they had a special bond that even Chan couldn't see. Basically, Changbin and Jisung understand each other more than he does.

He sighed, looking at the sky and realizes that the clouds shifts, revealing the moon. At first, he thought his eyes was messing with him until Jisung speaks.

"Hey, isn't the moon bigger than usual?"

Yes, the moon is undeniably large, as if the distance between the moon and the Earth just got closer overnight. That's not normal. And it just become more abnormal when the moon slowly turns red and the city of Seoul is showered by the crimson light.

"Is the super blood moon supposed to happen tonight?"

That phenomenon did happened but that was a few weeks ago, maybe a month ago and besides, the moon seems to be 5 times larger than that time.

The three boys continues to stare at the sky, amazed by the unnatural phenomenon before them, that was until the music from the radio was cut off by a sudden announcement.

"ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE MINISTRY OF DEFENSE TO ALL CITIZENS OF SOUTH KOREA, PLEASE HEAD INDOORS. LOCK ALL YOUR DOORS AND WINDOWS AND STAY INDOORS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE"

The announcement continues to repeat itself non stop and the three of them starts to feel uncomfortable and heads towards the door that leads downstairs but before they could grab the knob, it opens revealing a man in his 30s rushing out quickly before slamming the door shut. Then, consecutive knocks was heard alongside with loud deep moaning from behind the door. And it doesn't sound good.

The man turns around to see the three stunned kids and shouted them.

"Help me with this kids!"

Instinctively, they helped him hold the door and the eerily sounds of banging and moaning finally give the chills to their spines. Jisung doesn't want to jump onto conclusions but he feels like he's in the Walking Dead series.

"Mister, what's happening?!" Chan voices out with confusion and fear.

"I hope I know, kid. This group of guys ran after me while I was climbing the stairs and I just kept climbing until I reached here"

"Guys? You mean like humans?"

"Yeah, but... they don't look like humans"

"What do you mean by that?" Jisung is currently praying that his worst nightmares ain't coming to life but...

"It's hard to say this but... they all look like those zombies" With that Jisung's legs went weak for a second and because of that, their side lacks force and the door burst open, revealing three men falling in front of them with eyes glowing red and their veins popping out from their skin. Chan, Changbin and the stranger had already leaped away but Jisung could not even stand up as fear kept him rooted onto the concrete floor.

The three figures approaches him and Jisung stares at them with tears running down from his eyes. He wanted to scream, he wanted to run away, save his life but he couldn't. He felt like this was his last moment.

He closes his eyes expecting the worst. He felt one of them grab hold onto his arm and he was pulled... backwards? When he opened his eyes, he saw Chan smashing one of them on the head with a pipe and the loud sound of skull cracked and blood spewing out is more than enough to make Jisung's stomach curl. He realizes that Changbin was the one who pulled him away when he looked behind him.

The other two 'zombies' turn their attention to Chan and almost immediately pounced at him. Chan being the most athletic among his friends, shows his fast reflexes by avoiding them before quickly hitting the one on his right on the stomach, making it fall down and he quickly smashes its skull. Shifting his gaze towards the last one who's on the ground quickly, he saw that it's trying to grab hold onto his legs but he managed to stomp on them before giving it a finishing blow on the head, splattering its brains all over. By the time, he was finished, he realizes that he was coated in blood.

"Are they dead?" Changbin asks after a few moments of silence. From the looks of it, they do look dead with smashed heads and unresponsive bodies but the thought of it being a zombie makes them think twice.

"I'm pretty sure... ugh... they're... de- BLUARGHHHH" Jisung finishes his sentence by vomitting and the man that was with them immediately rubs the boy's back as he carefully turns him around so he wont see the horrific view.

All of them stays silent again, only hearing the sound of vomit meeting the floor and weird sound that the wind carries. Chan looks around and notices a butterfly flying near them. It was big, probably bigger than his two fists combined, its wings are RED with no patterns nor lines and if you look closely, you can see something like glitter dusts falling from it as it flaps its wings. It slowly approaches them and Chan was having a bad feeling about it so he moves towards the other guys, signaling them to look at the weird insect.

And in a matter of seconds, the butterfly flew straight towards the man who just turned his attention from Jisung to the direction Chan was pointing, and the creature enters the said man's mouth rather forcefully. He starts to choke and his mouth starts to bleed before he collapses and unresponsive.

Jisung who has no idea what just happened turned his head to see the man fell down right next to him, and he quickly tries to wake him up. Then, he witnesses how the man's skin turned pale and the veins starts emerging from his skin. And he also watches how the man's eyes slowly turning red and he finally realizes the situation he's in but he's too late.

The man grabs hold onto his leg with such force that the grip feels like it could snap his bones to pieces. Chan reacts by hitting the man's arm but he manages to grab the pipe and pull it making Chan fell right in front of him. For a moment, Chan swore that he saw the man smiling with his bloodshot eyes before a vase drops onto the man's head, smashing it.

Chan looks up and saw Changbin who's eyes in shock of what he has done.

"I killed him" In those words he was clearly uncomfortable with the fact that he just killed someone. He dropped to his knees and started crying, he felt confused, scared and guilty. Chan quickly sat up and hugs the boy, calming him down.

"Guys, what are those butterflies?" Jisung's question got Chan on alert. He looks around them and noticed that they are surrounded by dozens of butterflies, slowly approaching them. One is so near to Jisung that it almost flew into his mouth but Chan quickly slaps the insect away.

"We gotta get inside! NOW!" With that, the three of them enters the building and shuts the door before the butterflies could even enter.

"Hyung, what's wrong with those butterflies?!"

"They're the reason that that man turned into a zombie earlier" Chan says calmly. "We gotta find someplace to hide and I need a fresh set of clothes".

Quietly, they searched for a room that they could enter and luckily they found one on their first attempt. The room was empty, the windows are closed, clothes are everywhere on the floor and by the looks of it, it looks like a college student's apartment.

"Hello?" Chan calls out but no one responds. The three of them enter the apartment and locks the door. They check every inch of the place to find no one in there and they finally rest. In silence, they took turns to clean themselves and picks up some clothes they found that could suit them.

That night, it was hard to fall asleep with their minds keep wondering about the events that happened to them thinking about their families, friends and basically the whole world. There's no television in the room, and their mobile network couldn't seem to connect to the receiver. All three of them cuddled in the middle of the room under one blanket. With Chan in the middle, Jisung and Changbin naturally wraps their arms around the elder before drifting into sleep and Chan suddenly felt the weight, that the lives of Jisung and Changbin is in his hands. Deep down in his heart, he hoped that when he wakes up, he's in his bed and recalling all of this as a nightmare.


	2. Survive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chan wakes up the next day realizing it's not a dream

Chan was awoken by some soft sniffling sounds like someone is crying somewhere near him. He opens his eyes and realizes that he's not is his bedroom, instead he's lying on a mattress on the floor in an unfamiliar room. He turned his head to the left, meeting Jisung's sleeping face, then everything that happened last night swims through his mind in a quick flashback; giving him a mild headache. His left arm was occupied by Jisung, who's resting his head on it and there's no one on his right side. Carefully, he lifts Jisung's head, afraid to wake the young boy, and placed it gently on the pillow. He looked around and saw the small figure he was looking for, crouching near the front door, hugging his knees as he cries, burying his face into them.

 

"Changbin-ah" Chan called as he stood and proceeded to walk towards the boy. Knowing him, there's probably a lot going on his mind right now. Confusion, fear, pain and regrets, messing with his head and the fact that he ran away from home must have been hard for him. His parents might've been worried sick and Changbin does not know if his family are fine or not. In his head, he wanted to meet his parents, especially his father for disappointing him, for being childish and acting like a spoiled brat. He knows more than anything that his father just wanted the best for him and he should at least understand that. He never told his parents about how much he loves music and that's probably his biggest regret because if he at least shows his passion, his father would understand and they probably won't be having that argument. Changbin would probably be at home, the place he believes the safest compared to this crappy apartment.

"Hey Binnie, you alright?" Chan sat next to the crying boy who seems to calm down a little, taking deep breaths and collecting his thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm fine." As much as he hates to admit it, he dislikes being seen as weak, even though he could rely on Chan. Though, his egoistic heart refuse to acknowledge his weakness.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Changbin probably didn't notice that he had repeated the same words but Chan chose to ignore it and respect the younger's decision. He doesn't want to push the young boy more and make him feel bad again, especially in this situation.

"So what should we do now, hyung?" The question caught him off guard. He never thought of it as he kept telling himself that the whole situation last night was just a bad dream but now living in reality, he doesn't know. What should they do? What should he do?

"To be honest, I don't know. We could stay here until someone comes" The thought was fresh from his mind. Staying where they are is probably the safest bet, especially to avoid getting killed or turned into a zombie.

Changbin didn't respond. He was about to say something but he held himself back and continues to stare at the floor. Chan thought that maybe he needs some time to think and decides to leave the boy alone and check around the small apartment. Last night, they only checked for any other humans or zombies so they didn't check the place thoroughly. He went inside the toilet and saw his clothes that were drenched in blood, lying at the corner. He washes his face and looks at his reflection on the small mirror on the wall. He looks tired. He doesn't know for how long had all of them been sleeping and what the hell is the time right now, but judging from the sunlight that comes through the curtains of the apartment, he's guessing that it's already noon.

He walks towards the windows and carefully peeps through between the curtains and the view he saw was horrifying to say the least. Smokes and fire can be seen at a distance and down the road, you can see zombies walking, limping around slowly and some dead bodies lying on the tar. He continues to look around and realizes that the red butterflies that they saw yesterday and the ones that supposedly turns them into zombies, are no where in sight. They're probably hiding somewhere and who knows where or when they'll fly next.

"H-hyung" Chan turns around to the voice that belongs to Jisung who seems to have awoken, sweating and shivering. Fear pumps through his blood as he hurriedly rushes to Jisung's side and checks on him only to know that Jisung's body temperature is higher than normal.

"Damn it" He curses himself. He should've realized the warmth on his arm earlier was not normal the moment he woke up. No, he should've taken precaution after the trauma of last night's events that had caused onto the young boy. But then, even if he had known, what can he do?

 

+

 

"I'm going to leave you guys" Changbin eyes darted at Chan who looks firm with the decision. He carefully place a wet towel onto Jisung's forehead before confronting the older boy.

"Look hyung, I know you're worried and you want to find the meds for Jisung as soon as possible, but if you had watched at least one horror movie, you should know how stupid of an idea it is to go somewhere alone in this kind of situation." Changbin reasoned. He wants more than anything than to be separated and the idea of Chan heading out there alone is the least comforting.

"Yeah hyung... It's only a fever. It'll die down soon so please... don't leave us" Jisung's plead is hard to deny but Chan had already made up his mind. He's too concerned about Jisung's health. What if his fever gets worse? What if he dies because of his fever? It's going to be his fault for not being able to protect him and he's gonna live with that regret for the rest of his life.

"Guys, I'm gonna be fine. I'm stronger than I look and besides, I'm going to grab some food and clean water along the way, since we're short on that." Changbin and Jisung looks at each other and the both of them are clearly not agreeing with Chan heading out alone.

"Hyung, if you're gonna leave, then I'm going with you." Changbin said as he stood.

"What!? No! Who's going to take care of Jisung?!"

"He can stay her-" Changbin's words were cut off by Jisung's outburst.

"I'm coming along if both of you are going!" he carefully sat upright, facing Chan, determined.

"Then it's settled. We're coming with you, hyung." Changbin finished. Chan of course wanted to deny but there's something in Changbin's eyes that glints in something he doesn't know. He doesn't want to assume things so the thought of Changbin having ulterior motives slips through his mind just like that. He looks at the both of them, still contemplating his decisions. He knows he couldn't bring Jisung along but if he's left alone, he might wont be able to defend himself. Changbin looks too determined to deny his request. He sighs a deep sigh.

In the end, here they are, sneaking in the alleyway, trying their best to avoid meeting the zombies with Changbin, trying his best to carry Jisung on his back. The younger boy is obviously heavy but Changbin didn't expect him to be heavier than the textbooks he carried on the first day of school. He would ask Chan to carry the boy instead but he wasn't sure if he could defend himself and protect the other two at the same time, if a mob happens to find them. Trusting on Chan's skills which was proven yesterday with his hand occupied with the pipe that he used to kill the zombies, Changbin continues to walk with the heavy human sack on his back.

"Hyung, I think I can walk now." Jisung whispers by Changbin's ears.

"It's okay, we're almost there. We should see a pharmacy around that corner." Changbin points out. Apparently, the boy knows a pharmacy nearby since he lives quite near the area. Once they reach the end of the alley, they stopped their tracks and catch their breaths. Chan peeks out the alleyway, checking the surroundings for any inhuman beings and surprisingly, there's none which is weird when he thinks about it. Sure when they left the apartment, there's a few zombies around but along the way, they hardly saw even a single of that being. Thinking that God were on their side, Chan continues to pray to not encounter any of the zombies while they're all out in the open.

"I think we're clea- CHANGBIN, DUCK!" I guess God hates me.

Changbin immediately crouches down with Jisung still on his back, which was hard as he almost fell from the sudden reflex and Chan swiftly bats the zombie's head who was reaching it's arms for Jisung. The force was great enough to hear a snap from the zombie's neck before it fell down, dead. Fortunately, there's only one of them.

Damn it, how could I miss that?!

Chan didn't realize he was wording the words loud enough for both Changbin and Jisung to hear and they know more than to turn their heads to look at what was behind them. Calming himself, Chan told Changbin to sprint towards the pharmacy on the count to three with Jisung.

"But hyung..."

"It's going to be okay, I'll protect you. Trust me"

"But still..."

"1"

"...hyung..."

"2"

"..."

"3!" With a slight nudge from Chan, Changbin rushes forward, heading towards the destination he maps in his head. He ignores the smell of smoke and rotting flesh along the way and keeps his mind focus on the destination ahead.

He arrives, standing in front of the drug store with its glass walls and from the looks of it, it's empty, he hopes. He heard Chan's footsteps closing by and he sighs relieved as he didn't hear anything else aside from his own breath and Jisung's whispers that he's going to puke.

What?

Too late to react, Jisung vomits rainbows onto his shoulder and the smell is enough to make the insides of his stomach to rise to his mouth but he managed to keep it in by sheer willpower.

"Oh God, Jisung... you can't wait, can you?" Chan teased, forming a smile on his face. Even though he was worried, he can't help but to feel that slight of happiness and the way Jisung's lips curved upwards after vomiting his stomach acids onto Changbin is enough to make him feel like this whole situation never happened in the first place.

Changbin could only groan as he reaches the glass door and turns it to find it unlocked. He tilts his head. He can't help but feels that the three of them had been too lucky for his comfort. He just hopes that they won't be losing their luck anytime soon.

Carefully pushing the door open, he enters slowly, making sure his heavy steps aren't echoing against the white walls of the pharmacy. When Chan enters, they close the door quietly and proceed to check every corner of the store and sigh in relief as there's no one else besides the three of them.

After giving Jisung the medicine for his fever, he was forced to lay down in the back room which happens to have a sofa. Changbin takes off his tainted shirt and tries to search for any clothing he could wear but ends up wearing the purple curtains to cover his body. Chan closes the backroom door and faces the other two boys. He noticed that Jisung had already fallen asleep so Chan thought that he could have a conversation with Changbin who looks uncomfortable wearing the dusty curtains. Besides, there's something that had been bugging his mind.

"Isn't it weird?"

"What's weird?"

"You know, usually in zombie movies or games, these undead creatures would mob us if we make a sound or some shit and I remember shouting just now."

"... That's the problem. Are they really zombies? Are they even dead in the first place?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"Think about it hyung. That man from yesterday, he turned into a 'zombie' after that weird butterfly slips into his mouth and we don't know for sure if he's dead"

"So you're saying that we've been killing people?"

"No... just... what if they're still alive and being controlled by this... butterfly?"

"... I don't know. Who cares if they're still alive or dead. They're trying to kill us! I would do anything to protect you two even if I have to kill all those 'zombies' and sacrifice myself! As long as both of you are fine, I don't even care if I di-"

Changbin covers Chan's mouth before he could finish his sentence. Changbin understands the pressure Chan had on himself. Being the eldest among the three and since all of his family members are in Australia, the ones that he can call family is probably Changbin and Jisung. He made a bond between them with his love for music and before he knows it, Chan had treated them both like his own brothers. He knows that the older boy wants to keep them safe but Changbin was a bit disappointed if Chan continues to see him a s a burden. He can help too.

"Please don't say that, hyung" Chan stares at Changbin's eyes, there's hope and disappointment, mixed within the pair of dark brown orbs. Chan shifts his gaze to Jisung who's sleeping on the sofa. His face pale and beading with sweat. He closes his eyes and calms his nerves, he shouldn't make the other two worry. Besides, if he dies, who's going to protect them?

"I'm sorry" Chan whispers as he slowly removes Changbin's hand from his lips. "The three of us going to survive this. I promise" He gave Changbin a determined smile, telling him that he would never break the promise. He also promised himself to not die unless that he is confident enough that both Jisung and Changbin are safe and sound.

 

+

 

It was almost dusk when Chan went out to check on a convenience store he saw a couple stores away from the pharmacy. He had to make sure that Changbin had gone to sleep first so he won't be worrying the younger. He also left a note saying that he's going to grab some food and drinks for the three of them just in case any of them woke up to find him missing. Arming himself with the blood-stained pipe, he quietly exits the front door. No zombies at sight but he could hear the soft moans coming down the street and probably some shuffling from the alleyway. Maybe that was just him being paranoid but he doesn't want to play safe with his life on the line. With ears in full alert and eyes gazing everywhere, he walks towards the said convenience store, hoping for the best.

He entered the store and again, luck is on his side as he can't see any of the zombies. When he was sure that he's safe, he quickly grabs a bucket nearby and starts piling food supplies to satisfy their needs. Once its full, he checks what he had collected and laughs at himself. 2 bottles of Coca Cola and tonnes of junk food. Well, who cares about a healthy diet when you're in the middle of some apocalypse. This might be his and his friends last meal toge- let's stop there.

With a satisfied smile, he carries the bucket towards the front door that was already opened and he realized that the sky had turned dark with very soft red hue that's disappearing slowly.

Wait, the front door was open?

That's when he hears the moans coming from outside and the few silhouettes approaching him. And that's also when he realizes that the weapon he's been carrying is no longer with him. Dropping the bucket of food, he races to close the door but he was too late, one of them ran towards him and managed to pounce onto him, pining him onto the ground. He gathers all of his strength to break free but failed miserably. The monster was facing him, blood dripping from its lips as it gapes its mouth, falling onto Chan's face. If that was not horrifying enough, Chan could see something slowly crawling up from the zombie's throat. It's red and glowing and the poor boy finally see the familiar color of its wings. It was the butterfly.

He shuts his mouth and close his eyes simultaneously, afraid of what would happen to him. Then, he heard a loud smack and felt a splash of warm liquid fell onto his face. The thing fell on top of him with a thud and he felt someone pushing the zombie away from his body.

"Close the fucking door!" He heard someone shouted along with loud running footsteps and the front door closing shut. Then, he heard the loud banging, the same sound that haunts his nightmare last night. Like multiple fists banging onto the door, asking to be opened. Carefully he opens his eyes to see three young boys staring at him worriedly.

"Dude, are you okay?" The one nearest to him asks. He was kneeling beside him. His eyes full of concern and Chan couldn't help himself from staring at his eyes. They are beautiful but its probably because they are human eyes and Chan had never felt so relieved.

"I think I'm-"

"HE'S STILL ALIVE!" One of the new faces shouted and at first Chan thought that the boy was indicating him but then he noticed the same tall figure with a now messed up head, standing near them. The boy that just asked him, quickly stood up and faced the zombie with something like a sword in his hands but before he could even take one step closer to it, the thing screamed and from its mouth, came out dozens of the crimson butterflies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this story is also published on Wattpad @ akzstraykids  
> shoutout to Jelly for proofreading this!


	3. Brothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing, Kim Woojin, Kim Seungmin and Hwang Hyunjin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, you're not skipping any chapters and I didn't forget to post the continuation of what happened on the last chapter

"FUCKING RUN YOU DOUCHEBAGS!"

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS STANDING THERE?!"

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"WO-WO-WOAH! HELP! FUCK!"

Hyunjin slams his keyboard after the four words on his computer screen appeared.

 

You have been slain.

 

He sighs as he grabs the can of energy drink at his side before drinking down a few gulps. That was his ninth death in the game and he was seriously pissed off. Though he won't call himself a pro but at this point, his friends are gonna call him a noob when they check his game statistics later. All he could do is blame his teammates for dragging him down because seriously, they're the reason his team is losing the game.

When his character is revived, the sounds of clicks and taps fills his room, that was until a few knocks on the door was heard. Well, he doesn't really hear it since he has his headphones on but after more loud consecutive knocks, he finally notices and shouts.

"I'M BUSY, MOM!"

The door of his room opened and he decides to not bat an eye since his mother is probably gonna ask him to clean his room or maybe some chores that she's probably too tired to do. When the door closes, he assumed that his mother just wanted to check on him, so he make a mental note to himself to see her later after he finishes the game, which was about...

 

Defeat

 

...now.

"Noob.." A familiar voice whispers to his ears and he turned his face so fast, he could hear his neck popping only to see Seungmin smirking at him. Surprised, he fell off his chair and a high-pitched scream escaped his lips. Soon after, he heard the visitor and another familiar voice laughing at him. On his bed was Woojin, Seungmin's older brother and for awhile, he was confused before slowly understanding the situation.

"Again?" With the help of Seungmin, Hyunjin got up and dragged himself towards his bed and lands his head on top of Woojin's lap. His eyes then lands onto Seungmin, who sat onto his gaming chair that he sat on earlier then averts his gaze back to Woojin, who's now playing with his hair.

"Yeah. You don't mind, do you?" Seungmin asks while playing with the chair, turning himself around until he gets dizzy.

"For the millionth time Seungmin, you can even move to my house! We're like family! Isn't that right, hyung?" Woojin smiled at the younger's statement as he recalls on how many times they slept over at the Hwangs whenever his parents decided to get drunk, loud and argue all night long.

Of all things, he hated when his parents fought but acted like nothing happened the next morning only to fight again that night. He remembers when his father married Seungmin's mother, they were like the happiest family ever but after a few years, the happy family image shatters when both of them made drinking a hobby of theirs. Turns out they never love each other, and married for the sake of their 'children'. Woojin knows there are other reasons that they never brought up in their late night arguments, like how he heard one night when his step-mother was making a phone call in the kitchen. He heard how she wanted to file a divorce and marry the person on the other line but she wanted to wait until Seungmin was old enough to understand her. Woojin never meant to eavesdrop. He was just doing a typical late night stop at the toilet and when he saw the lights were on in the kitchen, he couldn't help it, but be curious.

His father was no exception. Woojin knows he slept with dozens of women before and after the marriage. Heck, his mother left him for said reason. The reason Woojin was stuck with his father was because he reminds her a lot of her ex-husband. Of course, his mother still paid attention to him, but not enough since she remarried and has her own happy family. A family probably happier than his.

Woojin's father and Seungmin's mother got married when Woojin was ten and that makes Seungmin seven years old at that time. Seungmin's real father died due to an illness when he was a baby, so he pretty much grew up without learning the love of a father figure. Woojin remembers how happy Seungmin was when he first met him when their parents decided to introduce their child to each other. Before his father could even introduce himself, Seungmin had already jumped onto him and claims him as his father and Mr. Kim looks rather relieved. When Seungmin's eyes made contact with Woojin's, he immediately wears the biggest smile he knows and hops into Woojin's arms. Woojin still remembers how Seungmin's eyes sparkles like the stars at night only to find them vanished three years later.

"...hyung"

"Woojin hyung!"

Woojin snaps out of his daze as he saw both Seungmin and Hyunjin, standing in front of him with eyes full of worry.

"Oh sorry about that." His eyes diverts to Seungmin who's now puffing his cheeks and Woojin can't help but smile at the boy.

"Come here." Woojin says to his step-bro... no, his younger brother, with both of his arms reaching out to him. Seungmin accepts the hug, falling himself onto Woojin's chest, making them both fall onto Hyunjin's bed, giggling.

"Hyunjinnie?" Seungmin calls to his friend who seemed quiet for awhile.

"What?" Turns out he's in front of his computer again.

"Are you playing again?"

"No, I'm just turning off the computer"

Hyunjin takes his time to reply to his friends, calling them noobs and promising to play together tomorrow before leaving the chatroom and exits the game. Once he clicked the red button on the screen, he turns around to see Seungmin who seems to be already asleep right next to Woojin who's playing his phone. Unconsciously, Hyunjin smiles as he tiptoes to his single bed and lays next to Woojin's other side, making the elder in the center yet again in every one of their sleepovers.

"Is he asleep?" He whispers. Woojin turns to look at Seungmin who's grazing his cheek on his left shoulder. He softly fixes Seungmin's hair and the way the younger doesn't react to his touch pretty much answered Hyunjin's question.

"I think he's out.." Woojin says as he turns off his phone and asks Hyunjin to put it onto the small table next to the bed. After performing his duty diligently, Hyunjin proceeds to hug the elder and buries his face into Woojin's arm.

"I honestly think you should sleep on the floor." Hyunjin sits up and makes a fake surprised expression while holding his chest when he heard the statement from the older's mouth.

"Why hyung? You don't love me anymore?" Woojin chuckles at the obvious act.

"It's not that, it's just... the three of us had grown a bit too... much. Don't you think so?"

True. They did grow bigger since the first time they slept together. The small single bed that was initially meant for one person is now shared with three teenagers who's still growing up. Hyunjin can already feel his legs touching the cold metal frame of the bed and since he's currently fourteen, he's still growing.

"Who cares? We can always share a small space as long as I hug you."

 

+

 

Hyunjin can't sleep. He's been trying to do so ever since Woojin fell into slumber. He should really consider sleeping on the floor as he's almost falling from the bed thanks to the two sleepy heads but hearing them snore peacefully gave him tranquility. He knows how much the both of them suffers from their family issues and he hopes that one day, they don't need to come to his house with a hurt expression anymore. Of course, that means no more random sleepovers but at least he knows that they're enjoying their time. Maybe if that day comes, he would be the one who's sleeping over at their house. He can finally see the room of the two brothers who he really cares about.

Brothers... He remembered that one conversation he had with Woojin one late night, when the brothers' first time, sleeping over at his house. They were both young, with Seungmin and him being ten and Woojin thirteen years old.

"Hyung, do you love Seungminnie?"

"Of course I do. He's my brother"

"Brother... so you don't love me?"

"You're also my brother, Hyunjin-ah. The three of us are brothers!"

"But we don't have the same parents ... We can't be brothers"

"Hmm... Let me tell you something. Seungmin and I aren't real brothers but we love each other like real brothers, and the both of us love you, like a real brother"

 

At first, Hyunjin was confused on what Woojin meant with him and Seungmin not being real brothers. He did asked the older but he shrugged him off and so he decided to ask his parents about it. That's when he knows about the brothers' family situation.

A few more moments passed and he still can't sleep. That was when he heard screams somewhere outside the house. Getting up from his bed, he walks towards his window and peek through the curtains and... weird was the first thing that came to his mind once he saw the view outside.

Large red butterflies were flying around, illuminating the streets in crimson light. People were running around, some screaming and others chasing. At first, he thought it was some on-field effect and his neighborhood is currently the location where a zombie movie is probably being filmed. But the make up on the zombies are too real for his well-being. The way their eyes glow red in the darkness and he could clearly see the blood flowing through their revealing veins where in every few seconds, they glimmer. The horror feels more real when he saw how one of the zombies mercilessly grabs a woman and starts breaking her bones, pulling off her limbs and smashing her head and Hyunjin have to look away as the zombie doesn't seem to stop 'playing' with her body. Closing the curtains, he grabs his phone thinking that he should probably update his twitter about what he just saw. He noticed that a message had popped in around an hour ago but chose to ignore it as he taps on the blue bird icon.

'WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!'

'OH MY GOD I DONT WANT TO DIE'

'GOD HELP US'

The tweets he saw from his friends confused him. He scrolls his timeline to see more of his friends being afraid and scared of something. Then, he saw a video clip someone recorded from their window. Pressing play, he watched the video only to see the same kind of zombie ripping someone apart and before he could look away, the video ends with a red butterfly bumping itself onto the window of the person's room. He exits the app hurriedly and accidentally tapped the message icon.

From the Ministry of Defense;

TO ALL CITIZENS OF SOUTH KOREA, PLEASE HEAD INDOORS. LOCK ALL YOUR DOORS AND WINDOWS AND STAY INDOORS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

Then, he heard a loud scream downstairs, a familiar scream that belongs to his mother. He drops his phone and sprinted out of his room, heading downstairs to see his mother on the ground and his father, lying down on the floor not moving.

"Mom! What happened?!" His mother turns around and Hyunjin could see the shock and fear in his mother's face as tears kept rolling down her cheeks. The son quickly ran to the woman's side and embraces her, trying to calm her down and understanding the situation.

"Th-the butterfly... your father..." are all she managed to say between her tears. Hyunjin took a look to his father and saw him moving.

"Dad?" He calls and the woman in his arms turns to look at her husband. The moment she see him moving, she lets go of her son and drags her body towards the father. But then, something unexpected happened.

"Ho-honey" She gasped. Then, her husband chokes her neck with one hand and lifts her up slowly. When the man turns to look at her, she knows he's no longer her husband but it's too late to realize that now.

In a few seconds, Hyunjin watches as his father smashes his mother to the white tile floor, coating it with fresh blood. He could still see his mother give a few struggles before she went limp, letting the man smashing her like a rag doll. Then, Hyunjin saw the familiar red orbs on his father's face and the veins that was already revealed on his father's skin.

"No..." He fell deep into fear as his vision went blurry with his tears. Frozen, he couldn't move when his father had already finished with his mother who's no longer recognizable. The stench of blood seeps into the air but the smell of fear is stronger. His body trembles as his heart rate increases. He saw his no-longer-father approaching him with his hands slowly reaching for him. That's when he saw something hits his father's head.

"HYUNJIN RUN!"

The familiar voice shouted to him and he felt someone pulling him to stand. It was Seungmin and the one that had saved him was no other than Woojin who's holding his baseball bat. The both of them pull him up and was about to run when the now zombie, caught Woojin's right leg, making him fall. Before he knows it, the zombie is pinning Woojin down with one of his hands on Woojin's throat and the other holding his dominant arm, making him unable to use the bat.

Hyunjin saw how Woojin struggles and without thinking much, he quickly grabs the bat from Woojin's hand and starts hitting his father's back rapidly.

"...jin ...unjin... Hyunjin!"

Snapping back from his trance, he stops his bashing. Coming into view is his father's motionless body, and blood spread everywhere. He drops the bat and looks at his hands, his bloody crimson hands. This is his father's blood.

He killed him.

A hand rested on his shoulder. He does not need to turn his head to know who as the owner of the hand's voice echoes with his sobs.

"Hyunjin-ah..." Woojin calls softly, carefully lifting the boy so he could stand up. "Look at me." Hyunjin couldn't meet the older's face. He's a murderer. He made the mistake of looking at Seungmin who's cowering at the stairs, his face pale and fear written all over his face. Seungmin is going to see him as a monster.

"Hyunjin-ah, thank you.." Surprised, Hyunjin finally lock gaze with Woojin. He was smiling at him and from that smile, he somehow could read what the older brother is trying to say.

 

Thank you for protecting me.

It's not your fault.

It's going to be okay.

 

Hyunjin cries more and Woojin wraps the younger in his arms. Rubbing his back once in awhile, comforting him as Hyunjin cries deeper into his shoulder. He took a glance at Seungmin who's hiding his face in his knees, presumably crying as he tries to process what he just witnessed. Then, the boy shifted after a thought came to his mind.

"Mom... Dad..." He whispers before calling out to Woojin. "Hyung, M-mom and Dad!" Then, he sprints towards the front door.

"No! Seungmin!" Woojin let's go of Hyunjin and in that brief moment, Hyunjin caught the sight of a red butterfly flying near Seungmin. Without much thought, he sprints towards it, grabbing and squashing it in his palm. Looking at his right hand, the butterfly appears dead with its exoskeleton leaking white fluid, mixing with the dust of its wings and blood on his hand, making the liquid looks like a glowing pink paint.

The front door opens. He turns to see Seungmin opening it and he saw the number of butterflies heading his way, trying to swarm in. Seungmin was about to head out but was pulled back in by Woojin before slamming the door shut, not giving a chance for even one of the butterflies to get inside.

"B-but, hyung! Mom a-and Dad- they- I-I..." Seungmin starts to cry again and Woojin though hesitant with his shirt soaked in blood, gives the younger a comforting hug and occasionally whispers that their parents are going to be fine and that they wanted the both of them to be safe. Of course, the brothers couldn't believe it. As much as they hated their parents, they still love them. They still hoped that one day, their father would realize his mistakes and their mother would forgive their father. They still wished for that happy family.

 

+

 

Seungmin soon exhausted himself from crying and fell asleep in Woojin's arms. He then carried the boy upstairs before waking him up to change his stained clothes with Hyunjin's clean ones. After that, the boy went back to sleep, still shivering under Hyunjin's blanket.

Hyunjin went to shower himself, making sure to clean all the blood on his body especially his hands. He would apply soap dozens of times because he could still see the image of his father's blood coating his hands. He ended up showering for more than an hour.

Woojin took the liberty to cover Hyunjin's parents with sheets of cloth for the reason that he knew that the boys would not want to look at the mis-figured corpses, especially Hyunjin. He even dragged their bodies and placed them beside the walls, behind the sofa, hiding from view. He then proceeds to clean himself after Hyunjin finished showering. When he finished cleaning himself, he caught Hyunjin staring at Seungmin before taking one of his pillows and lays them on the floor.

"Hyunjin-ah.." Woojin's voice surprised him as he didn't notice that Woojin had finished showering. He should've noticed when he doesn't hear the flowing water but he was too distracted. He looks down to his feet before facing Woojin again with a weak smile.

"You can sleep next to Seungmin if you want." Woojin assured. He's aware on how Hyunjin thinks, that Seungmin might see him differently after this but he knows more than that. He knows that Seungmin would never see Hyunjin as a threat. He sees him like a brother, the same way Woojin sees Hyunjin.

"But I..."

"Go to sleep.." He ushers the younger to the bed and makes him lay next to Seungmin.

"You're not sleeping, hyung?" Hyunjin asks as he saw Woojin taking his phone and heads towards the door.

"I need to check on something. You go to sleep." Woojin then left the room and checks his phone, scrolling through various social platforms to read the news and watch videos so he could understand more about what's happening. But he didn't get far. After around 10 minutes, the internet connection failed and he notices the cross symbol on the top right corner of his phone screen.

He sighed as he went back into the room. He noticed that Hyunjin had already fallen asleep and him and Seungmin are facing each other. He also noticed that Hyunjin is holding one of Seungmin's hands and the latter seems to quiver in his sleep. Carefully, he puts Hyunjin's free arm to wrap around Seungmin's body and the boy's trembles steadily dies down. He then sat on the edge of the bed for awhile watching the two kids sleeping while thinking on what they should do when they woke up. With his back resting on the bed's head frame and his arms crossed, he fell asleep just like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said, I didn't forget the continuation of what happened on the last chapter. Bear with me
> 
> Be My Boyfriend? has more kudos than this, I can't believe  
> befriend me on twt if you want @/akzstraykids  
> This story is also posted on Wattpad with the same username ^
> 
>  
> 
> Shoutout to Jelly for proofreading!


	4. Brothers ii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brothers part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys sorry for the long hiatus. A lot of reasons why hehe but I'll try to update weekly before my finals which I'll be taking another break for a few weeks (maybe a month) but I'm not gonna abandon this fic so dont worry. I already planned out a trilogy series for this ;)

Seungmin wakes up gasping for air with hair soaked in sweat and a pair of arms hugging him tightly around his waist. The vision he first saw was darkness but slowly the light came in and he saw the pair of dark brown orbs gazing deep into his own. Seungmin pushes the person in front of him out of instinct before realising it was Hyunjin.

"Hyunjin?" Seungmin noticed the shock and hurt expression written on Hyunjin's face as the latter slowly sat up, before stepping down the bed.

"I-I... I'm sorry" the boy says with voice shaking and he attempts to leave the room but a hand grabs his arm, rooting him from moving. Hyunjin turns around and saw that it was of course Seungmin's.

"Don't go" Seungmin says as he breaks the gaze, looking at the blankets in his other hand. "Stay... please".

Seungmin looks vulnerable, way more fragile than he used to be and it breaks Hyunjin's heart to witness this. But why would Seungmin wants his company? He's a monster. He knows that's how Seungmin sees him now. He wanted to leave but his heart wont let him. He could shake Woojin awake when he noticed how the elder boy sleeps in a sitting position at the corner of the bed and it looks far more than uncomfortable. Hyunjin knows how safer Seungmin would feel if Woojin is the one right next to him instead of him. But, Seungmin asked for him. It was not specific but the way Seungmin still haven't let go of his arm indicates that. That's what he believes.

Guided by Seungmin's pull, Hyunjin lays back down right next to Seungmin on the bed and the both of them facing each other. The younger then slowly closes in, planting his face onto Hyunjin's chest as his limbs snakes around Hyunjin's body.

"I'm sorry" Seungmin whispers into Hyunjin's shirt. "For pushing you away"

Seungmin could feel his friend replying with a hum, it echoes in his chest and Seungmin smiled a bit. Slowly they embrace each other in their arms, enjoying each other's warmth and tries their best to go back to sleep and ignore the flashbacks of yesterday's event.

 

+

 

Woojin was the first to wake up, that was only because his neck hurts from sleeping in a seated position. He looks at the boys on the bed who's still walking in dreamland, holding each other tightly and he smiles. The sun rays from between the curtains casually caresses their faces that for a second, Woojin thought of leaving them be and just go home before remembering everything. With a deep sigh, he gets up and left the room.

The sound of the door shutting startles Seungmin from his sleep, waking both him and Hyunjin simultaneously. The both of them stares at each other before slowly shifting away, feeling the awkwardness that fills the air. They never slept right next to each other before even though being best friends but Woojin is always there to be that wall between them. Of course they wanted to sleep next to each other but they somehow avoided the idea because it always gets awkward and the both of them dislikes that. Woojin acts like the line that connects them, a thread in the shape of human, making sure that the both of them stays together.

"Good morning" Seungmin breaks the silence.

"Yeah, good morning" Hyunjin steps down from the bed and stretches himself before slowly turning his head to take a peek at what Seungmin was doing. The said boy was staring at him but once they locked gaze the both of them quickly look elsewhere.

Then, the both of them heard the loud clattering and shifting downstairs. Immediately, they escape the room as trauma fills their mind. Each steps get heavier as the replays of what happened last night plays repeatedly and Hyunjin was the first to fall. And I mean, he literally fell down on his knees as tears ran down his cheeks before he could even reach the stairs. Seungmin who was behind him, stops his tracks and watches Hyunjin's breakdown. He couldn't move. He wants to but he can't. He doesn't know what was holding him back. But when he finally had the courage to take a step closer, Woojin is there, appearing from the stairs and quickly wraps Hyunjin in his arms, whispering words to his ears.

Woojin then glances at Seungmin before giving him a comforting smile. That's when it was Seungmin's turn to cry. He drags his feet towards the older two, drops to his knees and buries his face into Woojin's shoulder.

"Hey, hey. It's going to be okay" Woojin says softly, loud enough for both crying boys to hear, his arms gently rubs their backs, an attempt to calm them down. 

"Hyung... aren't you... scared?" Seungmin hesitantly asks. Woojin separates himself from the both of them and shifts his gaze towards Seungmin's red eyes.

"Do I look scared to you?" Seungmin observes his older brother who's smiling confidently, no hint of fear was seen but he knows his brother more than anyone else. That smile is the same smile that he sees whenever their parents fight, the smile that comforts him every night, the smile that helps him to grow up to the boy he is now. A smile so happy but at the same time, sad.

Seungmin knows more than to call out the fake smile. Though his heart aches, he smiled back. A sense of relief washes over his blood as he calms himself down, taking in slow deep breaths as his hands clasps each other. He then turns to look at Hyunjin who he just realised had been staring at him. They stare at each other for a few seconds before Hyunjin broke the gaze and quickly wipes his tears away before standing up.

"I... uh... toilet" He says as he left the scene leaving Seungmin confused. He didn't give much thought of it as Woojin also stood up and heads downstairs. Seungmin follows.

Once he took the final step, he watches Woojin grabs a bucket full of water before splashing them onto the red floor. He then grabs a mop and starts cleaning the floor. The stench of rust and flowers doesn't sit well together, also a hint of decay is there somewhere but if you don't have a sensitive nose, you might miss them.

"Can I help?" Seungmin asks. Woojin looks at him for awhile before leaning the mop against the wall as he grabs the empty pail and hands it to Seungmin.

"You can help me get more water, if you don't mind" Seungmin nods quickly as he grabs the pail before heading towards the bathroom near the kitchen. Waiting for the bucket to fill takes time, so he enters the kitchen and noticed that the backdoor was slightly open. Thankfully, the grille was locked. He decides to take a peek outside and it was oddly calm. If it's not for the trailing of blood on the grey pavement, he would mistake today as a normal day where he sleeps over at his friend's house. 

Suddenly, someone grabs his shoulder. He quickly turns around and punches the person behind him which is a mistake.

"Oh my God! Hyunjin!" Realizing the said person who's now kneeling on the floor, clutching his stomach obviously in pain, Seungmin rushes to his side and begs for forgiveness.

"I'm so sorry, Hyunjin! I'm just- You know- Uh- Are you okay?"

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine" Hyunjin waves him off and starts to stand back up again. "You sure have one heck of a punch"

"Like you don't know" Of course Hyunjin knows. It's not the first time that Seungmin hits him. You see, Hyunjin has a bad habit of surprising people and Seungmin has a bad habit of hitting people especially when assaulted or surprised. The slightly older boy had been pulling pranks on his friend since they first met and you wonder how they became the best of friends? I don't know either. Ask them.

"Seungmin, you really took your time on doing your errand!" Woojin voices out from the living room.

"Oh my God, sorry hyung! I'll get the-"

"There's no need. I'm already done" Woojin then appears in the kitchen. The three of them just stood there looking at each other before Woojin decides to speak up.

"So... umm... Hyunjin... I... How do I say this?... about..." he stares at Hyunjin before looking at the plates next to him. "... your parents..."

And the air in the small kitchen suddenly turns heavy. Seungmin noticed how Hyunjin's face changed. It was slight but enough for him to notice the grieving expression painted on the boy's face.

"I'm thinking of... burying them... at your front yard..." Woojin turns to look at Hyunjin who stares at the floor, unresponsive."I mean, you know... I wouldn't think they would be in peace if we left them... like that"

Slowly the boy lifts his head and nods with a smile and a tear rolling down his cheek.

 

+

 

Hyunjin had never thought that he would be digging his parents graves and it's hard to dig in the open where a human possessed by a butterfly might jump onto him. Woojin is right next to him, digging the same hole and Seungmin is on the porch, on watch just in case something might really jump out of a bush. It's still weird on why the streets are empty. Luck is really on their side.

It was fortunate for them that Hyunjin's family has two shovels in their shed, though the question why did appear in their heads, they decided to push it away.

 

+

 

Woojin and Seungmin lets Hyunjin mourns at the grave as they kept an eye around the house. Watching how their friend cried over the lost of his parents makes them teary-eyed as their thoughts went back to their own house.

"I wonder if they're okay" Seungmin blurts to no one in particular.

"They're fine. I'm sure" Woojin sat next to his brother who sits on the porch, near the front door. The smaller boy then casually leans his head onto the elder's shoulder and instinctively Woojin's hand held Seungmin's and gently caressing it.

"Should we..." Seungmin trails off, unable to finish his question. It's not the time for personal matters especially in a situation where you can die within seconds.

"Should we?"

"Nothing hyung"

"I know what you're implying, Seungmin. I'm your brother" Seungmin lifts his head and stares at Woojin's gaze. Their hands now connected and a glint of hope in their eyes, obvious in their intentions.

"So should we?" Woojin asks again and slowly but confidently, Seungmin nods.

"Let's go see Mom and Dad"

 

+

 

Woojin asks Seungmin to stay and watch over Hyunjin as he enters back the house, collecting things needed. He first went to Hyunjin's room, grabbing a few clean clothes while giving his gratitude that Hyunjin's size is not that different from his or Seungmin's. Packing them in two small backpacks, he then went down stairs to stuff in some canned foods he found and a few water bottles which were empty so he decided to fill them with tap water.

It sounds like they're going to have a long journey which is of course not since Woojin and Seungmin's house are within walking distance from Hyunjin's but Woojin are not taking chances. Who knows when will be their next stop for the night or where they will be hiding if those possessed humans found them?

Possessed humans... aliens... zombies...? Let's just call them zombies for now. 

Though Woojin knows they are not zombies but they have to name them at some point and calling them zombies isn't that farfetched. Sometimes, he wonders how he can be so calm in this apocalypse when he can die any moment. It's maybe the thoughts of saving his brothers is what's making him rational. He's the eldest, he can't fall. Besides, he matured a bit early thanks to his family situation, being the source of hope in Seungmin's life and now Hyunjin's. If he breaks down, who knows what would happen to his younger brothers.

Grabbing the baseball bat, he exits the front door, meeting Seungmin who's now talking to Hyunjin, comforting the taller boy.

"Let's go"

Hyunjin stares at him for awhile, scanning Woojin from head to toe before looking at Seungmin who smiled at him warmly. After understanding the situation, he wipes his tears and stood.

"I'm going too" Woojin grins at the boy's words before handing him one of the bags.

"We're not leaving you, Hyunjin-ah"

With that, Hyunjin breaks a smile, grabbing the bag and straps it around his left shoulder.

"Thank you, hyung"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didnt get much feedback which is understandable since I didn't put in any relationships yet. Most of them are still platonic but this chapter already hints one ship so I'm gonna tag that. But like I said, there's going to be 2 sequels after this so I'm not gonna make them official in this first series or I'll ran out of ideas for the sequels. So for now, they are all platonic. (Also because their age in this book is super young)


	5. Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fate is cruel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not gonna make promises so umm... its probably gonna take a long time to update since I got exams now.
> 
> The only promise I can make is that I will finish this fic no matter what!

The sound of the metal bat drops onto the pavement fills the quiet street as Woojin drops to his knees witnessing the sight before him. The heat from the dancing flames casually brush his skin and his heart cries in agony. His mouth gape open, he wanted to scream but his voice is not heard. Only the tears that runs down his cheeks could show the mental suffering the boy is facing.

Hyunjin hugs Seungmin tightly, shovels already on the ground beside them, his body facing the burning house while Seungmin's the opposite. He supports Seungmin's weight as the boy cries into his chest, legs failing and Hyunjin is too afraid to move from his current position of fear that he too would break down along with the brothers. No wonder the short journey to the house was somewhat peaceful with no encounters with the unidentified beings or possessed rampaging humans. It's almost as if fate is playing with them. It's too cruel.

The fire engulfs the two storey bungalow, burning the once yellow walls into brown and give it a few more hours and it would be the same colour as the smoke rising from every gap from the house. The house is still recognisable as few parts of the house is not yet touched by the flames. It still looked safe if one decides to enter it through the front door.

Then, without warning, Woojin stood, wiping his tears and before Hyunjin could comprehend the elder's actions, Woojin had already sprinted into the fire.

 

+

 

Obviously his legs move on their own. Woojin doesn't know why or how he even had the courage to even push the half-burnt door that is still fresh with embers. The thing is he could not even think about the possible burn on his palms as his mind is filled with the thoughts of his parents. Yes, they are not a happy family and yes, there are times that Woojin hated his parents so much but growing up in this kind of environment, he unwillingly matured early. He saw the struggles of his father, the regret in his eyes, the pained look every morning after the night his father argues with his step mother. Woojin knows deep down, his father wanted to change. But pride is a double-edged sword.

Mom has her own pride. She values Seungmin more than anything but even though she's always cold towards Woojin, but she never meant any harm. It was a few years back when he realised that Mrs. Kim is just awkward. She's been holding herself back, not opening her true self, locking her persona deep inside her heart. Woojin could feel the fear that his stepmother sometimes radiate when she's alone or staring into space. She's afraid that she might hurt her son, her new family. And she did. And once she fell into the abyss, it was hard for her to search for the light again. With work piling and less family time, it would take a miracle for her deepest fears to not come true.

The once peaceful house that Woojin remembered was now engulfed in flames, the white walls are now decorated with black spots, the sofa where he and Seungmin used to cuddle on their movie nights is now half-burnt, with the other half had already turn into ashes. Smoke fills his lungs as he made no effort to cover his mouth and nose as his eyes scans the living room, in search for two familiar silhouettes. He saw one, on the floor near the stairs. Body burnt to the point of unrecognizable but Woojin knows who that is, though he denied the thought. There's no way his father could die so easily.

He wasted no time than to follow the black smoke up the stairs, still in search for his parents and the flames are worse there. He rushes towards his parents bedroom, the door already fallen onto the floor, eaten by flames. Looking around the room, there's no signs of life except for the crackling fire if you consider that as something alive. He then moves towards his and Seungmin's shared room where the door seemed to not yet catch any of the flames. He tried to open it but it was locked from the inside, which mean... someone is in there.

 

+

 

Hyunjin doesn't know what to do. He had never thought Woojin would do anything so... un-Woojin-like. As he grew up half of his life with the presence of the brothers, he had always admired Woojin. The older brother had always appear strong and calm, almost perfect in his eyes. The great body proportions (note that Hyunjin is still shorter than Woojin), the intimidating yet soft looks and the way Woojin's gaze could touch his soul, giving him the weird warm feeling. He almost forget that Woojin is human. A fragile being.

Seungmin still doesn't know that Woojin had gone inside the house as he's still crying into Hyunjin's shirt, soaking it. After some time, he finally realises how tense Hyunjin is as the boy had already stopped all of his movements. He slowly turns around to face his home and noticed the disappearance of his brother.

"Woojin hyung?" he mutters, looking around him and his heart rate increases when he can't find his older brother. He turns back and face Hyunjin who's already looking at him.

"Where's hyung!?" He grabbed both of Hyunjin's shoulder, fear clearly written on his face as the thought of the worst came into his head.

"H-he..." Hyunjin couldn't bring himself to say it but the way his eyes shifts from Seungmin to the house gives enough enough information to the younger boy as he turns around and started to sprint towards the house but Hyunjin caught his arm.

"No," Hyunjin wanted to sound firm but instead, it sounds like a plead, begging Seungmin to not leave him. And Seungmin was caught in a dilemma, unsure whether he should stay or not. That's when Woojin ran out of the front door, coughing loudly from the smoke, grabbing Hyunjin and Seungmin's attention but the sight they saw is not what they expected.

Woojin's arms are coated in blood and some even smeared his face, his plain clothes are now decorated with crimson patches almost like someone splashed a cup of red paint onto his white t-shirt. In his left hand, holds something that is very familiar to Seungmin. It's the bamboo sword that Woojin used for kendo. But the thing that surprises him the most is the gun in his right hand, also coated in blood. Alarmed, the two boys ran towards Woojin.

"Hyung, are you alright?!"

That's when they noticed, that the coughs Woojin made are not some normal coughs after inhaling a cloud of smoke, it's the cough you made after excessive crying. The moment Woojin laid his eyes on Seungmin, the tears that he's been trying to hold back, falls again and he quickly dropped the arms in his hands and hugs Seungmin tightly and whispers.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." he repeats the phrase, again and again. Seungmin could feel how Woojin's body shivers as he tightens his hug around his younger brother.

A few moments passed before Woojin finally calmed down and he acts as if his mental breakdown just now didn't happened. Calmly saying that they should get going, gathering the arms he dropped earlier and ignoring the question that Seungmin asked.

"What happened, hyung?"

He stares at Seungmin before giving him a smile. He then proceeds to walk down road, noticing the previous blue sky, turning hues of pink.

What a beautiful sight, he thought. Woojin turns around to make sure the other two are following him and he could see the troubled look in both of their faces.

'I'm sorry, Seungmin' he mutters under his breath.

He made a promise. A promise between two lives. That Seungmin should never know, what happened in the house.

 

+

 

"Where are we going, hyung?" Hyunjin finally voiced after walking for a few minutes. Honestly, Woojin doesn't have an answer for that. He lets his feet guides them, taking steps further away from his house. Getting Seungmin further away from their house. Getting himself away from that house.

"We should find a place to sleep" They are currently in the part of the stores of their local neighbourhood, and the smell of blood are stronger here. The sight before them are more than terrifying, it's almost like something that came out of a horror movie. Bodies are everywhere, and almost all of them are not perfect. Limbs scattered everywhere and who knows which one belongs to which body because in their eyes, they all look the same.

"Hide!" Woojin whisper-shouted after noticing a few figures walking rather limply at the road further ahead. The three of them quickly hid behind a car and Seungmin accidentally grunts when he crouched to fast. Fortunately, it's not loud enough to attract the attention of the figures ahead. Woojin can't blame him. Carrying the two shovels must've been hard for his small, thin body.

He took a peek through the window and noticed that they were of course zombies and he also noticed that they are heading somewhere. That's when he saw another figure, trying to close the door of a convenience store from inside but was too late when the nearest one had managed to jump onto the person. A boy. And all Woojin could think of is to save him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is shorter than usual. I'm gonna be on hiatus for maybe a month. Oh and if you notice, this update is not proofread. Everyone is so busy these days hahaha if you have anything to comment, please do. I accept critiques dont worry. I'm still learning. If you're a writer too, you know how much it means when someone gives reviews to your work :) have a good day ;D
> 
> Oh and what happened in the house and what promise did woojin made? wait for the next update ;)


	6. Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation from Chapter 2.
> 
> The bond of trust developed between the two who holds the most burden.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm supposed to be on hiatus but hi anyways
> 
> This is not proofread. so warning! ridiculous grammar might be ahead haha

The butterflies kept coming out of the zombie's mouth, flocking the small convenience store, surrounding the four boys.

"Seungmin" The boy who saved Chan earlier called the boy next to him, pointing at one of the shovels in his hands and diverts his finger to Chan. Understanding the message, the boy named Seungmin passed the shovel in his right hand to Chan.

"Cover your mouth if you want to speak" Chan says with one hand covering his lips. Woojin looks at him knowingly and nods. He kinda gets the idea on how these butterflies possesses someone though he never saw it first-hand.

The four of them continues to stand on alert with their lips shut tight as the butterflies circles around them, making no attempt on jumping on them. The previous zombie stood limply in front of them, still releasing more butterflies from his stomach. Just how much space does this guy's stomach has?

Chan made the first move. Handling the shovel in his hands, he sprints towards the zombie and quickly swings his weapon, making sure the flat end of the shovel hits the face of the zombie, shutting the exit hole for the butterflies before turning towards the group of new faces and nodding at them.

 

+

 

Catching the signal, Woojin starts to hit the butterflies around him with the bamboo sword in his hands, smashing them in high speed. Seungmin also follows, hitting the butterflies one by one though he barely hit any one of them as the agility of the butterflies are too quick for his weak arms to follow. Plus, the heavy shovel isn't helping either. Hyunjin however stays rooted, his stance ready as he held the baseball bat ready to swing it but the memories of yesterday keeps replaying in his head making him frozen. The bat reminds him on how he murdered his father. His tears starts streaming and his breaths turns heavy.

It's almost as if the butterflies noticed Hyunjin's downfall as they started to swarm towards Hyunjin. Almost instantly, Woojin jumps onto Hyunjin, covering his mouth with his hand and Seungmin continues to defend them, trying his best to chase away the butterflies from them. But his effort is failing as the butterflies continues to swarm his brother and his best friend.

 

+

 

Chan had just finished the zombie when he notice how all the butterflies starts swarming at one direction. Turning his head, he saw how the boy who saved him jumps onto the other boy and loss from his vision as the butterflies starts to swarm the both of them.

Looking around, he saw some cans of bug spray and an idea hit him. He grabs one of the cans and starts to search for anything that can light a fire. Using his knowledge that he acquires after playing lots of Pokemon games, he remembers that fire wins over insects. And of course he remembers how moths die in those fluorescent traps or something, its just that the Pokemon idea comes first.

He managed to find a lighter behind the counter, and he immediately ran to the scene.

"Dude, out of the way!" He shouted at the boy that had been trying to hit the butterflies but failing. Once the boy steps back, he points the lighter towards the mass of butterflies before flicking it and pressed the spray towards the small fire, resulting a flamethrower.

 

+

 

Seungmin watches in awe as the butterflies one by one was caught in the flame, almost a total annihilation as some of them starts to flee away. That's when he saw how Woojin's shirt and backpack caught on fire.

"Stop! You're going to kill my brother!" He screamed which is a stupid thing to do as the remaining butterflies changes their attention to Seungmin. Noticing this he starts swinging his shovel again, chasing away the butterflies that tries to get close to him and once he managed to swat them away from him, Chan quickly flamethrower-ed them, making sure that every butterflies caught in the flame.

Seungmin turns his attention back to Woojin who's now rolling on the floor as he tries to extinguish the flames. The younger brother then saw a few bottles of Coca-cola near him and decides to just pour the whole content onto his brother which somehow managed to wipe out the flame.

"Are you okay?" The boy that he saved asks.

"I'm fine, thanks though" Woojin looks at the half-burnt shirt he's wearing and indeed there's a big hole at the back, revealing his skin which thankfully only a small part of his skin suffers, first degree burn.

"Seungmin, can you find any clean water?" He asks his brother as he casually takes off his shirt and grabs the burnt bag, checking the insides before sighing. Basically, everything inside can no longer be used including the clean clothes he brought. He turns around and saw the boy stares at him. He quickly looked away though with a slight blush that Woojin missed as his attention goes to Hyunjin who's still shivering on the floor.

"Hyunjin, are you okay?"

"I'm so sorry..." Hyunjin whimpers as he cries again and Woojin calmly wraps his arms around the boy.

"It's not your fault" Woojin whispers as he taps Hyunjin's back and realizing that the boy carried the other backpack. Seungmin came back later with a bottle of water and hands it to Woojin.

"Thank you" After rinsing the burn on his back, he grabs a clean shirt from Hyunjin's bag, and wore it but immediately scrunches his face when he felt the slight pain from the contact of his burn and the shirt.

"You might want to cover the burn properly" The boy said as he sat down next to Woojin with tissues and plasters in his hand. "Let me help you"

"I can do it mysel-"

"It's the least I can do... for saving me"

"... Thank you" With that, the boy gets to work, asking Woojin to lift his shirt so that he can cover the burn properly.

"What's your name?" Woojin asks as he felt the atmosphere too awkward.

"Chan. Bang Chan" The boy answers short before finally finishing his job on covering the burn.

"I'm Kim Woojin" He says as he turns to meet the boy's eyes before shifting towards Seungmin and Hyunjin. "These two are my... brothers. Seungmin and Hyunjin" Pointing them by names respectively.

"Nice to meet you three. I'm glad to find other survivors apart from me and my friends"

"Your friends? Where are they?"

"They're at the pharmacy a few stores from here. One of them is sick and the other one is taking care of him. I thought of gathering some food supplies and... that happened"

"One of them is sick? You don't think he's..." Seungmin trails off, afraid to voice his idea.

"Affected and might turn into a zombie?" Chan asks back, smiling. "I'm sure these... zombies aren't your typical virus-related zombies. I'm sure you guys get the general idea on how these people turn to zombies"

"The butterflies..." Woojin whispers nonchalantly.

"Yeah, I saw it first-hand on how it happened"

 

+

 

"Aren't you worried about your friends?" Woojin asks once they finished eating. Hyunjin and Seungmin went to sleep in the storeroom while Woojin and Chan stays at the front, searching for anything useful.

"I am. I hope they're still safe there. I kind of made a promise to myself to protect them since I'm the oldest but here I am, almost died earlier for my carelessness"

"Same. How old are you anyway?"

"Turning 18 this year"

"We're the same age then"

"How old are Seungmin and Hyunjin?"

"They're both turning 15 this year"

"Are they twins?"

"Oh no, they're best friends. I called them my brothers because that's what they are to me. Seungmin and I are step-brothers with no blood relations. And like I said, Hyunjin and Seungmin are best friends and the three of us are really close"

"I see. Then, Jisung and Changbin are my brothers too... I guess"

"Your friends?"

"Yeah. Jisung is the same age as Seungmin and Hyunjin while Changbin is a year older than them"

"I see"

"They're like my only family here in Korea. I'm actually from Australia but I moved to Korea a few years back, alone, to 'achieve my dreams' but all I ever become is an underground rapper and now this happened. Life hates me"

"Life hates all of us"

The two continues to talk about how unfair life is, complaining every flaw in the world, making jokes here and there. It's funny how comfortable they are with each other, almost like they've known each other for years. They sat down on the counter after covering the dead zombie body on the ground with towels that they found at the back.

"Can I tell you something?" Woojin asks as he looks at his dangling feet.

"I guess"

"Just... don't tell Hyunjin or especially Seungmin about this"

"That's some heavy burden but I'll manage"

 

+

 

(Flashback into the house)

 

"Mom?! Dad?!" He calls as he knocks on the door of his shared bedroom. He placed his ears on the door and hears someone shifting inside.

"Mom!? It's Woojin!" With the last call, the door unlocks and opened, revealing a woman leaning against the wall near the door, face pale and an arm missing.

"Mom!" Woojin quickly and carefuly embraces his step-mother into his arms as she slowly leans towards her son before placing something into Woojin's hands. A gun.

"Mom, we need to get you out of here. Seungmin's waiting outside"

"No, Woojin. Carry me to your bed, please"

"But..." Seungmin's mother smiled gently at him and Woojin knows what she means. Holding back his tears, he carries his mother slowly and placing her on top of the bottom bed of the double-bunk beds in the room. He's glad that his room is not damaged but seeing the pool of blood on the floor makes his heart twist.

"Your father... he went crazy. The butterfly makes him crazy..." Woojin just hums, listening to the story.

"He went violent, like he's not himself anymore. Like... he's dead, replaced by this... unknown being. And he did this..." Glancing at her right side where an arm supposed to be there. "I managed to kick him away and grabbed the gun that your father hid behind the TV. I tried to shoot him but... I'm not a sharpshooter. I end up shooting the beer bottles on the table and while running... I accidentally shot the gas in the kitchen and you know... boom" The woman coughs after trying to make the last word sound comical.

"There's only 3 bullets left in that gun... and Woojin. Can you promise me something?" Woojin just nods.

"Please... protect Seungmin. Don't tell him I was still alive when you found me because I'm sure he would be devastated. And..." Seungmin's mother looks at him gently. "... you know, I love you right?"

"Y-yes, I know"

 

"Please... end my misery" She said that while wearing her most beautiful smile, the one that Woojin had wished to see, for a long time.

 

+

 

"So I... so I..." Woojin let his tears fall as he remembers how he pulled the trigger and points the gun at his mother's chest. Chan pulls Woojin into his embrace and let his new friend, cries into his shoulder.

"It's fine... it's fine" He whispers gently to Woojin's ear.

"I-I killed her..."

"It's fine... you ended her misery"

"But I still killed her..." Chan separates his body from Woojin before gazing straight into his eyes.

"Look Woojin. I'm sure you've thought about this through. There's no other way. What you did is not something that you should be regretting. You ended her misery. Even if you managed to bring her outside and then what? I'm sure you know, her blood loss is too great and she's suffering too much. You did what you have to do. Sometimes, ending someone's suffering is better than wishing for a miracle that can hardly come true. What you did, is out of love. You already know, that there's no other way"

The both of them continues to stare at each other before embracing each other back in their arms. They enjoy each other's warmth, each other's scent. Without knowing, they made another promise or more like a realization. That whenever it's hard. They can rely on each other. They developed a bond of trust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a confession. Based on the plotline I wrote prior, when chapter 6 comes, I should've already introduced Felix but I'm still stuck at Chapter 4's plotline and they still haven't met Changbin and Jisung ugh


	7. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friends stick together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going on hiatus for 2-3 weeks because of exams so I thought I should leave a goodbye gift for awhile hehe
> 
> It's not proofread and a bit rushed so mind the errors

Trust is a really strong word. It's not easy for one to trust someone else but for Woojin and Chan, it's easy. Maybe feeling the weight of the burden they both carried, feeling how their shoes fit each other, putting one self forward from their small group of friends or family, simply put, they understand each other. They both acknowledged each other's strength and weaknesses even though they just spend less than half a day together.

"You sure you don't want to try checking them? I can accompany you" Woojin voices his thoughts after noticing how Chan had been shifting around on the floor, obviously worried about his friends.

"I don't want to risk it" Chan says as he shifts his body, facing Woojin. They're both on the floor, at the corner of the storeroom alongside Seungmin and Hyunjin who's fast asleep. "You said that you suspect that these zombies are active at night, didn't you? I don't want to put you and your brothers in danger"

A few moments of silence passes as they continue to stare at each other, trying to read what the other is thinking.

"I hope you're not thinking of doing the same mistake again" When Woojin said that, he noticed how Chan's eyes shakes a bit, even with the dim moonlight coming from the small window before Chan broke the gaze, facing the ceiling.

"Don't do it, Chan"

"W-what do you mean?"

"If you die, what do you think your friends would feel? You made a promise didn't you?" Chan continues to give the silent shoulder, ignoring the question coming from his new found friend. "That's why I'll help you. Two heads is better than on-"

"No" Chan cuts in. "I don't want you to risk your life too. What about your brothers?" Though deep inside, Chan just doesn't want to see Woojin dying.

"... I guess... we'll just have to wait until morning" As Woojin finishes his sentence, he turns around, facing Hyunjin who's beside him but before he go to sleep, he conveys a warning,

"I didn't save your life to watch you die, you know"

Chan shifts his gaze towards Woojin's back before averting back to the ceiling.

"I know" he whispers.

+

In the end, Chan somehow went to sleep but it was not long before he was awoken by the sound of short cries and sniffling. He was not sure for how long has he been asleep but judging from the sky that's turning from black to dark blue, he's guessing that he had probably slept for 2 or 3 hours.

He sat up, searching for the source of the noise and his eyes lands on Hyunjin's shivering body.

"No... Mom... Dad... I'm sorry..."

Woojin had already told him about Hyunjin's story. How the boy witnessed the death of his mother right in front of his eyes, and in order to help Woojin, he killed his possessed father with his own two hands. Watching how the boy struggles in his dreams, shifting around as tears kept flowing down his temples, is heartbreaking. Chan couldn't imagine what the boy sees in his nightmares and how deep the wound of the trauma that scarred his mind.

Thinking that waking Hyunjin up is the best option, he proceeds by reaching his hand across Woojin's body towards Hyunjin's shoulder. He shakes him gently, of fear that he might startle the boy as he calls the younger boy's name but probably a reflex in his sleep, he grabbed hold onto Chan's arms, gripping it tightly. And Chan was surprised at first but then, he starts to massage the boy's hand gently, trying to calm him down and it did.

Hyunjin's breathing starts to slow down, no words or utterance left his lips and the grip on Chan's hand weaken before letting go of it. Chan smiled at his own actions as he retreats his hand from the boy but then, his eyes caught a glint of light, glimmering in the dark near Hyunjin. He averts his gaze and saw Seungmin staring at him.

"Oh God, you scared the shit out of me" Chan whisper-shouted as his hand retracted to his chest, trying to clam the sudden adrenaline rush in his heart.

"Sorry, hyung" Seungmin says as he sat up.

"I think I never told you my age"

"You're 3racha right? CB97?"

"How did you-"

"I'm... Jisung's friend..." Chan's eyes widen with the new information. "... do you know if he's okay?" The slight nod of Chan's head made Seungmin release a breath of relief.

 

+

 

"So he's the one who got the fever, huh?" Seungmin exclaims as he stretches his legs from the counter top. The both of them went to the front as they wanted to continue their conversation without disturbing those who are asleep. 

"Yeah, poor kid" Chan says as he chuckled a bit.

"He gets sick easily so I'm not surprised"

"Oh... I didn't know that" the dejected tone of his voice fills the air and Seungmin glance at him worriedly.

"It's not your fault he gets sick. His body is just weak"

"But if I took precaution, he might not get sick. If only I knew that he has a weak immune system"

"I'm sorry if this sounds a bit harsh but I think, him being a part of 3racha is one of the reasons how he gets sick easily. And I'm not trying to blame you or anything, it's just he knows it's hard juggling between school and his rapping career with that body of his and I told him a lot of times but he just never listens. That's just how he is..."

"Always pushing himself" Chan completes Seungmin's sentence. Chan knows how hard the younger works himself but never really knows on how hard it is. The gush of anger flows through his blood as he thought he should've been more aware of Jisung's situation.

"Does he ever broke down to you?"

"... no"

"I guessed so. Don't hate on yourself, hyung. Jisung told me how he had such high respect for you, he truly admires you, you know" Chan just nods as Seungmin continues. "He strives to be like you. Strong and hardworking but as you know, his body couldn't keep up. And there was one time he broke down in school and Hyunjin and I escorted him back to his house, and he let out every piece of anxiety to us. He told us how he hates his father for moving in and out of countries for his work. How he was constantly in fear that the friends he made would disappear. And the lack of mother figure has deprived him into loneliness. With his father busy and friends that comes and goes, he was fighting a very desperate fight with himself. He was suicidal, hyung, but that was until his father managed to secure a job in Korea and he finally met you..."

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because you should know more about him. The side of him that you and Changbin hyung never knew"

"But still, why?"

"Because you are the reason he's still breathing, hyung"

Without realizing, Chan starts to cry. The tears fall vigorously down his cheeks and he made no attempt to wipe it. Trains of thoughts pass through his mind as he recollects every memory that he spent with Jisung and Changbin, his small family. He appreciates every moment, grateful for blood, sweat and tears that they shed together. Writing lyrics, producing songs, performing in Hongdae, every one of them he embraces them around his arms, hugging himself in the process.

"Thank you, hyung. For being the light in Jisung's misery" Seungmin says as he hops down the counter before giving the older a short hug. Then, he left Chan with his thoughts as he went back to the storeroom, laying back on the floor next to Hyunjin. He tried to go back to sleep but he can't, so he continues to stare at ceiling with the thought of meeting his friend running through his mind.

 

+

 

Hyunjin woke up to the sound of laughter. He opens his eyes to find himself alone without anyone by his side. Even Seungmin is gone. He gets up and walks towards the store front and was a bit surprised when he saw Woojin, Seungmin and Chan having a conversation whilst eating bread. He felt left out.

"Hyunjin, you're awake!" Chan shouts as soon as he saw him standing at the door frame. Woojin and Seungmin turns simultaneously and starts calling him over, asking him to join them. Weakly, he limps towards the group and sat between Woojin and Seungmin while facing Chan.

"Here, drink some water" Chan offers a cup.

"Thank you" Hyunjin was a bit flustered to the kindness of the stranger in front of him. He's still a bit uncomfortable with Chan since he barely knew him, though his face does look familiar.

"He's CB97, 3racha leader" Seungmin says nonchalantly as he ate his chocolate-filled bread. The statement made Hyunjin spurts his water onto Chan accidentally and a moment of silence follows.

Chan was the first to crack up as he grabs some tissues and wipe his face with it before the other two joins him laughing. Hyunjin quickly helps him as he mutters apologies rapidly from his mouth.

"I'm so so sorry"

"It's okay. It's only plain water"

"Are you really CB97?" Chan nods proudly and he doesn't know where he got that confidence from. "I'm a big fan"

"Oh, thank you"

"I've listened to all of your songs and I've always wanted to try rapping but never got the chance to do so but oh my God, CB97 in the flesh!"

"Calm down, Hyunjin" Woojin was giggling as he said that because, seeing Hyunjin being this cheerful like this makes him happy.

"Yeah, calm down. We haven't met Jisung yet" Seungmin mutters between chews and this of course made Hyunjin excited.

"Wait, don't tell me Jisung and Spear.B is in the pharmacy you told us yesterday"

"Yes, they are" Chan turns his head to face Seungmin and he proceeds to whisper to his ear. "You should've at least warn me about this so I can prepare mentally"

"But that would ruin the fun, won't it?"

 

+

 

As expected by Woojin and Chan, in daylight, there's no zombies or butterflies in the road once they open the door. Not really none as they can hear some distant moans somewhere but they're sure that they are far enough from the source of the sound. Not taking chances, they quickly sprint towards the pharmacy with Chan leading and Woojin at the back. Once they entered the drugstore, they went straight towards the backroom and Chan immediately knocks on the door while calling out his friends name but the one who opened the door was not who they expected.

"You must be Chan, right- oh, more survivors!" A woman probably in her early twenties, exclaims as she saw the group of boys in front of her.

"Uh yeah- who are you?"

"That's my sister, hyung!"

"Changbin, don't shout! You'll hurt your throat!" The woman shouts before pulling the door further. "Come in, I hope you brought the food because the both of them are starving"

When the four of them enters the room, they immediately saw Jisung laying down on the sofa almost lifelessly, with his eyes still shut but judging from his shifting, he must've been awake but too weak to even open his eyes.

"Jisung!" Seungmin shouts as he ran next to the boy alongside Hyunjin.

Changbin on the other hand, was sitting on the chair next to the sofa obviously weak with his back hunch and eyes droopy. Chan approaches the boy with a basket full of food and drinks before kneeling down next to him, dropping the basket next to him on the white tiles.

"Do you know how worried I was, hyung?" The weak boy starts.

"I'm sorry" Chan says as he grabs a bottle of water before handing it to Changbin. "Drink this before you eat something"

"I'm tired, hyung. Feed me" Changbin whines and Chan giggles as he complies.

 

+

 

"Seungmin? Hyunjin? What are you guys doing here?" Jisung asks as soon as he opens his eyes. Hyunjin helps him to sit properly while Seungmin grabbed a mug he saw on the table before pouring a drink into it.

"Drink this" Jisung did but then furrows his eyebrows as the taste of the water tickles his taste buds.

"Isotonic drinks are good for handling fever" Seungmin explains short.

"Oh... thank you but... what are you guys doing here?"

"Eat first, then we'll talk... loser" Jisung used to hate that nickname Hyunjin throws at him but you can say he never felt more glad to hear it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love friendship but I never really taste true friendship. oof the irony hahaha  
> and who's changbin's sister, you ask? I'm not gonna use his real sister ofc so this sister is a kidol, with the same surname as Changbin. Try to guess who? ;)
> 
> see you guys in a month or so


	8. Request

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of dreams and reality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi hello, oraenmaniya~
> 
> now that a lot of characters are already introduced, I think I can make the chapters longer uwu
> 
> this is not proofread

"Hey, what's your name?" The woman who greeted them earlier asked Woojin, who seems to be left out as the others went straight to either Jisung or Changbin.

"Kim Woojin" He answers timidly as he was sure that the woman is probably older than him, judging from height, clothes and speaking manner. Though she definitely looked young, she had that grace of an adult. With her long brunette hair tied in a ponytail and her casual white blouse and blue jeans, she undeniably looks attractive.

"I'm Seo Juhyun. I'm Changbin's older sister" She held her right hand out and Woojin accepts it with a shake.

"Uh, would it be rude to ask your... age?" He chose his words carefully as he had experiences with some older women who doesn't like to reveal their age and man, they're a bit scary to his liking.

"It's fine. I'm 24 and I'm assuming you're still in school judging from how young you look?" She shifts her right eyebrow upwards as she finishes her sentence.

"Yes, I'm in my last year of high school"

"Last year of high school eh?" Though it ends with a question, it sounds more like a statement. "Say, what do you want to be when you grow up? If these things didn't happened?"

The question was thrown out of nowhere and it of course didn't give Woojin any time to think. So he told her, his greatest ambition. His dream that is now hopelessly clinging in his mind. Besides, who cares about dreams when you're about to die anyway. Might as well tell your deepest secrets to a total stranger.

"A singer"

"I see, me too" Juhyun's eyes shifts to the ceiling, staring at it with a soft smile plastered on her face. "But not all dreams come true, right?"

Woojin frowned at the statement. As much as he agrees to it, he doesn't like it when people threw the harsh reality onto his face. The path of being a singer is so far from him and ever since this happened, it's getting further away. Life really hates him.

"When you have a family that focuses on business, it's hard to not follow them unless you have another dream that the family can take pride of..." Juhyun paused for awhile as she turns her head back, facing Woojin again while smiling. "I chose to be a doctor"

It just shows that no matter what dreams you have, whatever you wanted to be, as long as you are born in the wrong place, at the wrong time, you can never achieve them.

 

+

 

"Uh... noona..." Chan suddenly interrupts Juhyun and Woojin's conversation after he forced Changbin to eat the snack bar by himself."...you're a doctor?"

"Yes, I am. Do you need something?" Juhyun asks as she hears the concern in the boy's voice.

"Woojin... your back"

Juhyun turns to look at Woojin who's hand starts shifting around his back or more precisely, under his shirt and she saw the bandages.

"Can you lift the shirt for me?"

Without hesitation, Woojin lift his shirt a bit, just enough to reveal the not-so-neat first aid treatment.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Before Woojin could say anything, Chan answers the question for him.

"So yesterday, I was hoping to find some food at the convenience store and then I was attacked when I was about to leave and then Woojin came to save me and then-"

"He flamethrower-ed my shirt and I got burned"

An 'oh' escapes the doctor's mouth.

Woojin just gave Chan a forced smile as the latter furrows his eyebrows before sighing dejectedly.

"It was an accident as he tried to save me"

"I see" Juhyun carefully slips off the plasters from Woojin's skin to reveal the red part of his skin when she remove the tissue.

"How is it?" Chan worries and Juhyun can't help but smile at how Chan's eyes are slowly turning into those puppy eyes.

"A first-degree burn... slightly infected..." She gave the burn a mild touch of a finger and Woojin responded to it with a hiss. "... still painful"

"Does it hurt?" Woojin just smiled as Chan's question, signalling him that he's totally fine and also for him to stop worrying about him.

"Usually, a first degree burn wouldn't last this long. You're going to need some antibiotics and pain relievers. Thankfully, we're in a drugstore so we should have those" Juhyun finishes her prescription. She stood and heads towards the storeroom but before she left, she ask Chan to wash the burn again with clean water.

 

+

 

Woojin sat on the floor as Chan does his work, slowly pouring the tap water he got from the toilet onto the burn skin. Once he's finished, he sat next to Woojin and decided to start a conversation.

"So you wanted to be a singer, huh?"

"I didn't tell you?"

"Nope. We talked a lot last night but you never mentioned anything about singing"

"Well that's because you're the one who keeps talking"

"But you're the one who ends up cryin-"

Chan quickly covers his mouth as his eyes shift from Woojin who's already looks ready to punch him, to Seungmin who's in a deep conversation with Jisung and Hyunjin. He sighs in relief before choking on air as his eyes averts met Changbin's who's judging him real hard as he munches on his Snickers.

"What?"

Changbin just gave him a blank stare before looking elsewhere, ignoring him.

"That kid, seriously..." Chan briefly said as he turns his attention back to Woojin. "I'm sorry"

"It's okay..." Woojin sighed afterwards as he wraps arms around his legss, placing his chin on top of his left knee. Chan slowly embraces the boy from the side, leaning his cheek onto Woojin's shoulder and of course, it was by instinct. The both of them didn't say anything, just enjoying each other's warmth, that was until Juhyun came back from the storeroom and Chan immediately separates himself from his friend.

'Friend...'

The thought, excites him. Chan doesn't have much friends and the ones close to him are only Changbin and Jisung. He watches as Juhyun hands Woojin the medicine he needs before she took out a bandage and wraps around Woojin's body. After she finishes, she turns to look at Chan before smiling at him, hinting him something before she stood up and heads towards Changbin. What was she hinting? The boy never knows.

Then, a question came to mind. What is Changbin's sister doing here?

"I think we should introduce ourselves formally" Woojin blurts suddenly, surprising Chan in the process but he nods nevertheless.

All of them sat in the middle of the room with Jisung already in proper sitting position on the sofa though his head lands onto Seungmin's shoulder who's sitting next to him. Hyunjin sat on the armrest on the left, near to Jisung while Woojin sat on the opposite. The chair that Changbin previously sat on was pulled facing the sofa and the one sitting on it now is Changbin's sister. Changbin sat on top of his sister's lap and that leaves Chan, standing awkwardly near Woojin.

"I'll introduce myself first since I'm the eldest..." The woman who had her arms wrapped around Changbin's body starts. "... my name is Seo Juhyun. I'm Changbin's older sister and I'm 24 years old. I'm a doctor so if you have any injuries or health issues, you can tell me. Any questions?"

"Why and how did you get here, noona?" Chan voices his question.

"I got here a bit earlier than you. I'm supposed to gather some medical supplies for a group of survivors in the school at the end of the road and I found my baby brothe-"

"Noona!" Changbin interrupts as he glares at Juhyun who casually pinches his cheeks.

"-and I heard about how YOU..." pointing at Chan. "...selfishly left these two poor boys alone"

"I was trying to grab some food!" Chan shouts trying to defend himself.

"I'm joking, I'm joking. Please don't take it to the heart. I'm thankful that you came back with food and more survivors because Changbin had been restless worrying about you"

"I... I'm sorry..."

"There's nothing to be sorry about. Why don't you introduce yourself next?"

"Ah yes, sure" He faked a cough, asking for the others attention earning a playful boo from Changbin.

"I'm sure that most of you know me so I'll formally introduce myself to Juhyun noona," he says as he bows slightly at the woman's direction. "My name is Bang Chan, 18 years old. A friend of Changbin and Jisung. Also... known as CB97, leader of 3Racha" Chan shyly scratches his head as he finishes his sentence.

The others continue to address themselves but to be honest, there's not much to tell. Unlike Juhyun who had a professional career, the boys are still students with hardly anything to talk about especially in this situation. Even the name 3Racha is just a name from the past, it's nothing to be proud of. If only their rapping could actually spit fire then, their shoulders would at least feel light.

"Noona, you mentioned that you're gathering supplies for survivors, right?" Woojin asks after Jisung finished his introduction, though it was all Seungmin who's doing the talking.

"Yes, some of them are injured and most of them had developed PTSD and there's hardly anyone in the male spectrum there. I believe... there's only one boy, probably around your age taking care of the others there"

"We should join them" Chan immediately says and the others in the room agree nonetheless except for one person.

"Changbin?" The boy startled when his leader called him. His eyes lands onto Chan's but he quickly shifts his gaze to his sister. The siblings stare at each other, conversing with their eyes in silence and the other boys just waited patiently.

"We... we would like to stop by our house" Changbin finally spoke as he eyes fixed at the ground, afraid to see everyone's reaction.

A moment of silence passed and glances are exchanged between the people in the room. A quiet discussion is currently going on especially between Chan, Woojin and Juhyun. Woojin judges that it's not a good idea from his experience but from Chan's perspective, they still can't confirm about the condition of Changbin's parents.

Chan sighs heavily.

"How far is the house from the school?"

 

+

 

With Jisung piggyback-ing Hyunjin, they left the pharmacy with the necessary supplies and even stop by the previous convenience store to replenish their food rations, and proceed towards the Seo's house. They live in a tall 13-storey apartment building which is located near the midpoint between the pharmacy and the survivors' location, though after a few turns here and there, it took them more than an hour to finally reach the apartment complex. It's not really that much of a surprise since they have to be constantly aware of their surroundings, each person covering the others' blind spot.

Chan and Woojin had already shared the theory of the zombies being inactive during the day to the others and Juhyun had already knew about it. She said that the boy from the school had also came up with the same conclusion and that's how she managed to go to the pharmacy all by herself. Though they did stumble upon a few of those zombies but they managed to hide from them as Chan suggested that they have to avoid any engagements as much as possible.

Now, here they are entering the pristine blue apartment complex with silver patterns as it's exterior design. The seven of them took extra caution as they make their way across the lobby and towards the elevator since there's a lot of crooks and nooks where the zombies could hide but once they stood in front of the metal doors, they raise their doubts.

"You don't think that once the doors are opened, a horde of zombies would come through them, do you?"

"That's some horror cliche but we should take that into consideration," Woojin answers calmly to Jisung's pessimistic question. "I think the stairs is a better option"

"But his house is on the freaking ninth floor!" Hyunjin complains. "I don't think my legs could carry Jisung all the way up there"

"I'll carry him," Chan offers. "I also think that the elevators a bit harmful in this situation because even though they still have electricity, we don't know for sure for how long"

Changbin felt bad. Because of him, his friends had to deal with all sorts of things and now his request felt like it's burdening them. He did say that he would be okay by his own but Chan pulled the horror cliche separation card. That's how all of them ended up here. His sister had been quiet this whole time and Changbin knows why.

The both of them had been praying every second just to see their parents alive, especially Changbin.

 

 

And Hyunjin however had a bad feeling since the start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seo Juhyun is Seohyun from Girls Generation but I use Juhyun since it's her real name
> 
> What do you think is going to happen in the next chapter? Prepare yourself 
> 
> and who do you think is the boy with the survivors? ;)


	9. !!ANNOUNCEMENT!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not an update

Hi hello,

As my exams are about to finish, I can maybe focus back on writing this fic so expect some at least weekly updates. And as you realized, I changed the title from RED to The Red Butterfly (I'll change the cover some time in the future).

I'm changing things a lot from the original plotline, thankfully, the first book doesn't change much. First book? Yes, I'm making a trilogy XD

The original plotline doesn't make sense to me when I looked at it again, so I'm changing them and this new idea has a wide range of views meaning I can write a whole damn lot of things.

Romance is inevitable but in this first book, no such romance is bound to happen. Maybe lingering feelings but that's it. 

You wont get much answers about the butterflies in this first part of the story, since basically, this is like a prologue of the main series where Stray Kids find each other and survives. I'm not planning on killing any of them... not yet ;)

If you have any questions, do ask me here or you can personally dm me on twitter, @akzstraykids

I guess that's all for now. Until next time :D

(I'll delete this after the story is finished)


	10. Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Graphic description of body horror though not that descriptive but just in case
> 
> They entered the house and...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for being late. enjoy :)
> 
> this is not proofread so pardon me

Once they reached their destination, Changbin hastily presses the buttons on the door but due to his nervousness and panic, he couldn't get the right password. After failing the second attempt, Juhyun took over, pressing the password with forced calmness.

The door swung open slowly and the seven of them including Jisung who firmly said that he could walk on his own now, enters, tip-toeing their steps, passing through the hallway, into the apartment. That was until Juhyun came to an abrupt stop. Chan who's standing noticed how her body starts shivering and when he took a look from the side, he felt his blood drained from his face.

"Hyung, what's-" Changbin couldn't even finish his sentence when Chan immediately turns around facing him.

"Woojin, we need to go. Now" It was not loud but stern, conveying the alert written on his face as he forcefully turned Changbin around and starts pushing him towards the door. Changbin saw how his sister starts crying before Woojin gently wraps his hand around her arm as he tugs her, pulling her away from the scene. Just what did they saw?

Changbin's curiosity beats him as a flow of random visions of blood and gore fill his mind and the familiar faces in his imagination isn't helping especially his father. No, his father can't die yet. Not like this. He swats Chan's hands away as he ran further into the house and his eyes immediately absorb the scene in front of him.

His parents' bedroom door is wide open, revealing a motionless body lying on the floor in a pool of blood. The black dress soaked in blood is familiar in Changbin's eyes but not the deformed body. The limbs are intact but noticeably broken, some bones even managed to reveal themselves by tearing through the skin. And her head... Changbin feels his stomach curling as the food he took earlier force themselves to climb up his throat and even when he tried to hold them in by covering his mouth with his hands, he vomits.

Chan immediately went to his side, softly tapping his back as Changbin continues to vomit before exchanging gazes with Woojin who brought Juhyun to sit at the living room sofa, joined by the others as they are too are not ready to watch the horror that Changbin witnessed.

Juhyun cries into her hands muttering 'mom' from time to time, giving the others a good idea on what she saw and this pulled a trigger onto Hyunjin as the flashbacks came playing back in his mind. He looks at his hands and he swear he saw visions of blood coating them. Tears start to pool in his eyes but then, he saw two hands holding his own. He raises his head and saw how Seungmin smiles softly as he rubs his thumbs against Hyunjin's hands, comforting him.

Seungmin shared a look with Woojin who then nods at him before continuing to calm Juhyun and Jisung is by her side, also trying to comfort her by rubbing her back. The younger brother, Seungmin, thought of regaining Hyunjin's composure by letting him breath some fresh air. So he ushered his best friend towards the balcony, passing by Changbin and Chan who's walking towards the others.

But before they could get close to the sliding doors, a hand grab hold onto his neck before lifting him off the floor.

 

+

It happened within a second.

Woojin of course kept an eye on his brother as he and Hyunjin walks towards the glass doors and then he glanced at Changbin who throws himself into his sister's arms. That's when it happened.

The sound of broken glass echoes in the room, grabbing his attention and when he turned to the source, there he witnessed Seungmin and Hyunjin, both being raised into the air by a tall buffed man with throbbing red veins decorating his skin.

He could see Seungmin struggling for air as his hands tried to rip off the zombie's hand from his neck. Hyunjin kept thrashing his body and limbs, hitting the man's arms and body, trying to break free but the grip on his neck gets tighter. His face turns red as he continues to struggle but no matter how hard he tried, he can't even loosen the zombie's grip.

Chan was the first to move among them, grabbing the baseball bat he left on the floor earlier but before he could take another step further, the zombie threw Hyunjin harshly towards him, and the tip of the metal bat accidentally hits Hyunjin's head. The sound of the impact rings through the apartment and Hyunjin fell limp into Chan's arms with blood trailing down his temple.

Woojin didn't waste a second as he pulled out the gun that his mother gave him and immediately points it towards the zombie. Calming down his trembling fingers, he positioned himself to a more comfortable stance, aiming the gun at the zombie's head but when he pulled the trigger and released the bullet, someone knocked him to the side, forcing him and the said person falling to the ground, making the bullet travels straight to Seungmin's left arm, puncturing a hole beneath his shoulder.

Seungmin's painful screams filled the entire apartment and Woojin who was pushed to the side watches in horror as the zombie throws Seungmin onto the floor and instantly silences the young boy as he slowly passed out. Woojin then glances to his right, glaring to the person who knocked him over and his eyes met Changbin's.

"Why?" Woojin managed to let out the word calmly, feeling his blood boiling in anger. Changbin tries to speak but what came out of his mouth are incoherent words as his eyes shifts from Woojin to the Zombie and then to Seungmin who's lying on the floor. Then, Woojin saw Juhyun at the back staring at the zombie with tears streaming down her cheeks. That's when he understand the situation.

"I'm sorry, Changbin but I have to," Chan suddenly spoke as he lays a faint Hyunjin to the side before grabbing the bat and pouncing towards the man that Changbin knew as his father.

Woojin covers Changbin's sight with his body, embracing the younger in his arms but Changbin wanted to stop Chan. so he thrashes, trying to break free but he even through his screams of 'No-s' and 'Stop-s', he could hear the sound of bones crushing and blood dripping until he heard no more and he cries into Woojin's shirt while shouting a loud 'Why?'.

+

The first thing that greets Hyunjin when he woke up is a loud pounding in his head as if his heart is just beneath his skull. He opens his eyes and instinctively moves his dominant hand to his head only to realise that his head is covered by some cloth. He looks around, noticing the unfamiliar ceiling but he recognise that antique side table next to the black leather sofa his laying on. Slowly the events came in rushing through his head making him groan as the pounding grew more painful.

"Hyunjin?" A familiar voice called him.

"Woojin hyung..." He tried to get up but the pain in his head isn't helping. Then, a hand helps him to slowly sit upright before he felt a weight sitting down behind him on the sofa.

"How do you feel?"

"My head hurts..." Hyunjin then turns to a more comfortable position, placing his legs onto the floor before turning to his left to meet Woojin's concerned eyes but the elder still managed to smile.

"Where's Seungmin... and the others?" Hyunjin asked as he noticed that there's only two of them in the living room. He saw the slight shiver in Woojin's eyes at the mention of his younger brother and adrenaline starts to rush through his blood and of course making the pounding sound in his head louder.

"He... he's sleeping inside..." pointing towards one of the rooms in the apartment. "...with Jisung and Chan..."

From the way Woojin's voice waver, Hyunjin knew that there's something else the older wanted to say but he doesn't want to push Woojin further. He just hopes that Seungmin is fine.

"I shot him"

Hyunjin's head snaps faster than he could imagine as he stares into Woojin's eyes who's avoiding his own, looking down at the floor.

"Is he-" Woojin cuts off Hyunjin before he could say any further.

"It was an accident. The... the zombie thrashes around too much that I missed and shot Seungmin's arm instead. He's fine now that Juhyun noona treated him earlier"

Despite the long outburst, there's seems to be something else that Woojin wanted to say so Hyunjin waited but no more word came out of the other's mouth. Instead, a glass of water was presented in front of him.

Accepting it, he drinks and just realized how thirsty he was. He gulped all of the clear water within seconds before taking a deep breath as he turns back to look at Woojin.

"Can I... can I see him?" Woojin smiles fondly at the younger before he helds both of his hands, grasping them tightly in his own.

"Just don't wake him up"

Woojin ushers Hyunjin towards the room nearest to them before slowly turning the knob, peeking his head inside. Hyunjin watches how Woojin interacts with someone in the room with body language, asking the person if he could come in. The younger boy enters and saw Chan walking towards them smiling softly at him.

"How are you feeling?" He asks whilst placing his right hand on top of his head, ruffling his hair a bit before softly grazing the bandage wrapped around his head.

"I'm fine... How's Seungmin?" His eyes diverts towards the bed and he could hear his heart break. His eyes glisten as he watch his best friend, pale looking, a contrast compared to what he remembers, his left arm wrapped by a sheet of white cloth, folded onto his stomach and a few bruises decorating his forehead. He slowly walks towards the left side of the bed, noticing that Jisung was asleep on the right side of the queen-sized bed, before sitting down next to his friend.

He saw Woojin and Chan left the room, closing the door as they left, dimming the room to a crimson glow thanks to the moonlight from the window.

+

"Did you tell him what happened?"

"Yeah"

"Everything?"

"... no"

"He should understand, you know"

"I know but not right now. The fact that Seungmin got hurt by me is already overwhelming for him"

Chan noticed how Woojin clenched his fists, digging his nails into his palms so he held his hands, rubbing his thumb onto them, comforting the other.

"It's not your fault"

Woojin turns to look at Chan and smiled but with tears rolling down from his eyes.

"Hey, don't cry. You already cried so much earlier, don't waste your tears"

"Wow, so insensitive" Woojin chuckled as he wipes the tears with the sleeves of his shirt.

"Well I'm sorry I'm not good at comforting people"

"Nah, it's fine. I prefer it this way"

"You don't want me to hug you?"

"No thanks, just... nevermind" Woojin then proceeds towards the couch but was held back by Chan who grabbed his arm.

"You can't just leave after making me curious about what you're gonna say" Woojin stares at the floor for awhile before facing Chan again.

"Just... remember that promise" With a smile, he gently took off Chan's hold on his arm before laying down on the couch, proceeding to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any questions, comment down below or dm me personally on twitter @akzstraykids


End file.
